Share your memories, photos of Blizzard of '78

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Clevelander James Truly is helped from the cap of his truck on Jan. 31, 1978, after he was buried inside it since Jan. 24, 1978. The truck was lost in a huge snowdrift along Ohio 13 north of Mansfield. Hungry and dazed, Truly was able to walk to a rescue vehicle. (Copyright, Alan King, Mansfield News Journal) Copyright, Alan King, Mansfield News Journal

Truck driver James Truly's truck is partially exposed on Ohio 13 north of Mansfield in the wake of the Blizzard of 1978. Truly was trapped in the truck for five days. The story of his rescue was reported around the world. File photo

Truck driver James Truly's truck is partially exposed on Ohio 13 north of Mansfield in the wake of the Blizzard of 1978. Truly was trapped in the truck for five days. The story of his rescue was reported around the world.(Photo11: File photo)

MANSFIELD - It was a sight to behold. The arctic temperatures, the icy wind, the overwhelming snow drifts. Forty years ago this month, north central Ohio was buried under the blizzard of the century.

The snow began falling Jan. 26, 1978. Although there were only 14.7 inches of snow that weekend, most of it that first day, the snow drifted more than 20 feet in some areas.

The night before was unseasonably warm, with temperatures near 50 and rain after midnight. Temperatures at dawn fell 30 degrees in two hours. The wind gusted to 50 mph and the wind-chill factor plummeted to below zero all day.

A snowdrift swallowed a tractor-trailer on Ohio 13, trapping the driver inside. A picture taken five days later, when the driver was discovered alive, would be seen around the world.

The major general of the Ohio National Guard compared the impact of the blizzard to a statewide nuclear attack. President Jimmy Carter declared Ohio a disaster area, dispatching 300 federal troops with arctic gear and 60 pieces of heavy equipment for snow removal.

Locally, seven people died and thousands spent the weekend captive in their homes.

Later this month, the News Journal will take a look back at the storm that stranded numerous residents, closed schools and businesses and made a ghost town of Mansfield.

Have a story or memory you'd like to share? Photos or home movies?

Anyone who would like to share memories of the blizzard may email stories or photos to yournews@mansfieldnewsjournal.com or write to 70 W. Fourth St., Mansfield, OH 44902 no later than Monday, Jan. 15. Anyone with a home movie they would like to share can contact Jason Molyet at jmolyet@mansfieldnewsjournal.com.